The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1887-01-14
I A TEACHERS LOVE.
Why Little Miss Ray rendered
Her Resignation.

f10T R0Sl9ndI1On.
"I wonder what he is like" said
Nellie Melville, lifting her small and
shapely left hand, ostcnsiblJ, to rear
range her vail, though, in fact, the vail
hung precisely the same afterward that
it had before. When Nellie lifted her
hand, there were always glimpses of a
wondrously-rounded, dazzling white
arm. Was it all piece of vanity, her
trick of moving that lovely arm up
ward and outward, backward and for
ward in all sorts of graceful curves,
or, posing it in absolute rest by the
half hour, utterly unconscious, APP
parently, that its position emphasized
its beauty, and that an artist could not
have changed it for the better. If it
was not vanity, why was it always the
left arm, which was beautiful, and
never the right arm, which bore an I'M
slightly scar just above the wrist?
But l did not pause just then to
speculate on this abstruse question; 1
only watched and listened, my heart
sharing the tumult of the other four
hearts near it; for we were five teach
ers, called together by request of our
principal, whom not one of us had yet
seen, and whose appearance we await
ed in some trepidation. Was he an
aged teacher, who would parade his
experience before us twenty days in @
school month? Should we be COM
PEELED to remind him that experience
makes fossil more frequently than a
savant? Was he a middle-aged man
with hobby, in which he would ex-
poet us to share his disproportionate
INTEREST," Was he a susceptible youth,
who would fall in love with each of us
by turns, and prosecute us with offers
of marriage, which we must imperil
our situations to rejectp
] hope he is our Apollo" said
Matte Merlin, with a giggle.
Better hope he is good teacher"
said Emily Knox.
81 don't care the value of mouse in
trap whether he is Il good teacher or
not, but | do hope he will stay by his
own classes and not come shying and
shopping round our rooms" said Miss
Griller, whose methods of instruction
were much criticised in Beaville, and
who was suspected of getting her GER
tilicates by dint of tears and persuaslons
rather than high scholarship.
"Well, little Ray" said Nellie Mel
vile, "what are your desires and ex-
pectations concerning the new princi-
palP That he shall be fit subject to
fall undcr the spell of your charms?"
and Miss Griller and Matte Merlin ex-
changed chances and gigglcd.
"For shame, girls!' cried Emily
Knox IF Ray is not handsome, she
knows more than the four of us to-
gcther."
Ray may parade her scientific
teaching as an offset to the Wilderness of
her mouth, lif she likes" said Miss
Griller; ''it will serve to divert the
principals attention from the other
grades. Why don't You talk, RayP"
That question was addressed to me,
Ray Alternately. The smallness, the
narrowness, the insipidity of the lives
and ambitions of these girls made me
heartsick always when with them. To
think that such persons were EMPLOYED
in teaching young children! was an
enthusiastic teacher, and thought no
power, however great, wasted if it con-
tubuted ever so little to the develop
ment of that wonderful aggregation,
the human race, and it seemed to me
that soul should be very wise and
very much in earnest before it could
safely be intrustcd with the care and
instruction of the little ones.
Emily Knox was more undetermined
than the others, but she was q careless.
easy-going creature who broke prom
ises because she forgot them, and who
always depended upon the inspiration
of the moment for her methods of in
struction. Inspirations. like husbands.
are less likely to come to those who
wait idly than to those who work on at
"the duty that lies nearest" and so
poor Emily was frequently mortified bv
the non-appearance of her inspiration
when it was most needed. I had not
time to reply to Miss Griller before
Mott;o Aa,1;,, nva1o;,,,ol.
30 my, girls. I've got my wish! He
is an Apollo! just scrumptious!'
''How do you KNOWS it Mr.. Swazee
who is coming?" asked Nellie Melville,
posing her left arm so that the sleeve
fell back and revealed the lovely mem
Der nearly to the elbow.
The reply to her query appeared in
the door-way-a tall, finely formed
man, who introduced himself as r. j.
Swazee. OF course, we all rose, but
Nellie was a little slow about doing so,
and Matte swept past her with peeu-
liar movement that threw her arm out
of position. Was it accidental? |
thought Matte was trying to suppress
a giggle as she moved further forward
and offered her hand to Mr.. Swazee,
with some gushing remarks about her
great happiness at having met him.
cannot tell how got through the pre-
sentation, in which Miss Griller, being
eldest, acted as mistress of ceremonies,
any further than Matte Merlin remem-
bered for me. She informed me after
ward that had behaved very badly,
that had been as shy as rabbit, and
cold as a raw potato. Ionly know that
the man Of magnificent presence and
courtly manner who stood before me
exercised upon me so strange an influ-
ence that my first impulse was to es-
cape from the room, my next to fall
upon my knees. All this sounds very
absurd, am sure, but relate facts.